ingalls



J. K. INGALLS.

' Game-Board.

No. 226,615. Patented April 20,1880.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOSHUA K. INGALLS, OF NEWV YORK, N. Y.

GAME-BOARD.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 226,615, dated April 20, 1880.

Application filed November 2-2, 1879.

' To all whom it may concern men or pieces over the surface toward a goal.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a plan view of my improved board; and Fig.2, a vertical central section of the same, taken in the plane of the dotted line as 00. Fig. 3 is a detail view of the pieces or men.

The board is of circular or polygonal form, and is provided with a playing-surface, .A, which is non-recessed and flat, so that the pieces can be readily slid or rolled over it. A concentric trough or pocket, B, surrounds the playing-surface A, to catch such pieces as are shot 011 the latter, and at the center of the playing-surface is formed a goal, 0, which is preferably in the form of a shallow circular recess, as shown.

Between the goal C and trough B are formed any desired number of concentric annular spaces or rings, D E F, outlined by lines a b, of circular or polygonal form.

The rings D E F may be given different colors, so as to be the more readily distin guishable from each other, or the lines a b may be made sufficiently prominent to properly sepa rate them.

Around the board is a wall, 0, forming the boundary of the trough B,sufficiently above the playing-surface A to intercept any pieces that may be shot off said surface.

G G are cushion posts or walls arran ged equidistantly, or substantially so, around the goal 0. These serve in some degree as a protection to the goal 0 and ring D, intercepting some of the pieces that are shot toward the goal and increasing the skill necessary to reach the ring D, it being necessary to aim the pieces between them.

In the drawings I have shown the posts or walls G G as eight in number and equidistantly arranged. With this arrangementeither two, four, or eight persons may play the game.

The players, if there are more than two, may divide into two sides, and they will in any case arrange themselves equidistantly around the board, which may be set upon a small table of convenient height or be provided with suitable legs or supports. I prefer to give the perimeter of the board a polygonal outline, corresponding in the number of its sides to the greatest number of players for which it is intended. Thus the board shown in the drawings is octagonal, and is intended for eight players at the most. If eight persons are playing, they will occupy the positions of the letters H H in the drawings. The players may be alternately supplied with white and black pieces, or with pieces of other colors, if preferred, an equal number being furnished to each player. I prefer the form of pieces shown in Fig. 3, they being similar to ordinary checkermen in form, but preferably somewhat heavier.

The radial surface of the board is divided equally between the players, each being entitled to shoot from the integral part nearest him, which is called his space! The boundaries of these spaces may be indicated by lines or marks (I and 0, so that when there are eight players the space of each player extends from one mark 0 to the next mark e. \Vhen there are four players the space of each extends from one mark (I to the next mark 01, and when there are two players each can sit opposite one mark d, and his space will extend from that to the next mark (I on each side. These marks are preferable, but not iudispensable, as the shape of the board or the ar rangement of the posts or walls G G may sometimes serve as a sufficient guide.

The posts G G are shown as arranged in a direct line from each mark 0 to the center of the board, so that a piece shot from midway between two marks, 0 c, in a direct line to the goal, will pass midway between two posts. If the board is intended for a different number of players from that shown, the number and arrangement of the posts will be correspondingly changed.

One player, as at H, commences the game by placing a piece within his space on the edge of the playing-surface A, as shown by the dotted circle f, and snapping it with his finger toward the goal, his object being to cause it to drop into the recess which forms the goal. His piece, if sent in the direction of the dotted line, may stop where, indicated by the dotted circle 9 upon the ring D. The second player at H (the opponent of the first) will then endeavor to shoot the first piece out of the ring D by snapping a piece against it from h, the course of the pieces being shown by the dotted lines. Thus the game proceeds, each player shooting from his own space and endeavoring either to lodge one of the pieces of his side in the goal O or to drive the pieces of his opponents from the goal, as may seem to him most wise. A piece driven into the trough B should be counted for the opposite side.

When all the pieces have been played the game is counted according to their positions. A piece in the goal counts highest, in the ring D next, in the ring E next, in the ring F nothing, and in the trough B less than nothing, or in favor of the opposite side. These pro portions may, of course, be varied to suit the tastes of the players.

Instead of snapping the pieces, they may be driven with a cue, mallet, or other device, and instead of using pieces that slide over the board those that roll may be employed, as balls or marbles.

To guide the aiming of the pieces toward the goal, a series of straight radial stripes, m m, may be employed, passing midway between the posts G G.

The posts, in addition to being an obstruction to the entrance of pieces to the ring D, serve also as cushions for the pieces to carrom against in making an indirect shot--as, for instance, to reach some piece on the opposite side of one post, the aggressive piece may be shot against another post and rebound from that against the piece desired.

A greater obstruction to the entrance to the ring D and a more extended surface or cushion to carrom from than that supplied by simple round posts may frequently be desired. This may be attained by extending the posts radially to form walls, as shown in the left half of Figs. 1 and 2. The use of such radial cushion-walls renders the game more difficult than when simple posts are employed, and gives-an opportunity for the exercise of much greater skill in making indirect shots.

The cushion posts or walls may be constructed of any desired material, as wood, rubber, or ivory but I prefer to make them of some hard and elastic wood.

Instead of making the goal 0 in the form of a recess, as shown, a post or other device may be used, against which the pieces may be driven, and from which, if shot with too much force, they will rebound; but the recess is in many respects preferable.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is as follows:

1. A game-board which consists of a circular or polygonal nonrecessed playing-surface, A, surrounded by a guard-wall, c, provided with a central goal, 0, and divided into a series of annular spaces or rings, D E F, substantially as set forth.

2. The combination, in agame-board, of the non-recessed playing-surface A, divided into annular spaces or rings D E F,'the recessed central goal, (J, the posts or radial walls G G arranged in a circle around the goal, and the projecting guard-wall 0 around the outer edge of the playing-surface, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

3. A circular or polygonal game-board comprising a central recessed goal, 0, a non-recessed playing-surface, A, an annular space or ring, E, marked thereon, and a series of posts or radial walls, G G, equidistantly arranged upon the space E, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

4. A polygonal game-board which has as many sides as the greatest intended number of players, and which comprises a central goal,

G, and a circular or polygonal flat playingsurface, A, when provided with a series of straight radial stripes, m m, extending from the middle of each side toward the central goal, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

5. In combination with a circular or polygonal game-board having a playingsurface, A, the central goal, 0, a series of posts or walls, G G, arranged around the goal, and a series of straight radial stripes, m m, each of which extends from the perimeter of the playingsurface toward the goal and passes midway between two posts, substantially as set forth. 

